Content management application for an interactive environment

ABSTRACT

The content management application is an intranet application which provides a process for implementing changes to an internet website of a company by providing the company the ability to define and enforce a common style of page layout. The application can be accessed via a desktop browser and multiple users may access the application for multiple reasons at the same time. The application also dynamically generates new page designs and new component design with various people assigned to groups or teams enabling the continuous creation and processing of content. Once the content is created and reviewed, it is then launched onto the company&#39;s internet site for viewing by the internet users accessing the company&#39;s web page.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application. Ser. No.13/273,120 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,195,787) filed Oct. 13, 2011 , which isa continuation of U.S. application. Ser. No. 13/099,267 filed May 2,2011 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,065,407), which is a continuation of U.S.application. Ser. No. 12/885,307 filed Sep. 17, 2010 (now U.S. Pat. No.7,958,223) which is a continuation of U.S. application. Ser. No.12/106,883 filed Apr. 21, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,818,411), which is acontinuation of U.S. application. Ser. No. 11/458,851 filed Jul. 20,2006 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,401,138), which is a continuation of U.S.application. Ser. No. 9/897,858 filed Jul. 2, 2001 (now U.S. Pat. No.7,117,260), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Serial No. 9/769,924filed Jan. 25, 2001 (now abandoned), which claims priority to U.S. Prov.Appl. No. 60/178,376 filed Jan. 27, 2000; the disclosures of each of theabove-referenced applications are incorporated by reference herein intheir entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to methods and apparatus forimplementing changes to an internet website, and more particularly, tosystems for defining and enforcing a common style of website page layoutfor use on an internet and intranet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As more and more companies begin to provide a presence on the internet,they are confronted with the issues of presentation and conformitywithin the preparation of the presentations. Various schemes have beenpresented to assist the companies in preparing the presentation screensthat would appear on the internet website. Such approaches have includeddelegated authority systems, used content aggregation, providedgraphical interfaces, and dynamically generated web documents. Further,general website management has included editing and generatinginformation, data access/processing systems, automatic publishingsystems and group ware systems. These approaches generally requireknowledge of an authoring language, such as, for example, HypertextMarkup Language (HTML), a capability generally understood by websiteprogrammers, but not sufficiently among general employees.

The prior art generally fans to disclose a sufficient process forimplementing changes to an internet website such that employees in acorporation may define and enforce a common style of page layout.Further, it is desirable to provide an application that can be accessedby multiple users at the same time via an intranet browser, where theapplication allows corporate employees to manage content, create new webpages, process content through workflow, and define new content andstyle without requiring that the employee be proficient in an authoringlanguage, such as HTML. It is further desirable that prior to a web pagebeing introduced to the internet, a launch status be assigned to thepage such that all appropriate employees, which form the workflowcommittee, review the content and proposed web page and authorize thelaunch to the internet. Additionally, it is desired that an accesscontrol system that can limit access to certain members within theworkflow group and certain areas of the proposed web site be provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a content management application which isan intranet application for implementing changes to a website. Theapplication provides a corporation the ability to define and enforce acommon style of page layout in an intranet environment prior tointroduction of the page layout to the internet website. The intranetapplication can be accessed utilizing a standard desktop browser andmultiple users may access the application for multiple reasons at thesame time. Thus, with minimal or no sufficient knowledge of an authoringlanguage such as, for example, the HTML programming language, corporateemployees may access the application to manage content, create newpages, process content through workflow, define new content style and/orthe like. The content management application also dynamically generatesnew content for predesigned page layouts and new component layouts, thecontent of which within the internet can be assigned to groups or teamswhich enables the creation/processing of content by any member of theteam.

The content management application through the use of a workflow conceptindicates the status of the user such as, for example, an author, aneditor, a legal reviewer, market reviewer, owner and/or the like. In theworkflow, after the author drafts content for a proposed web page, theauthor can approve the content and it then becomes available, via theintranet, to the next member within the workflow, such as an editor.After all of the appropriate employees within the workflow review thecontent and proposed web page, the proposed page is assigned a launchstatus which allows the newly created web page to be made available onthe corporation's internet site. The content management applicationsystem includes access control such that access to certain documents canbe limited to only certain members within the workflow. Additionally,the access control can limit access of not only certain members, butalso limit access to certain areas of the content. Thus, templates canbe pre-established using a uniform style guide such that when a templateis added to the web page, all the templates conform to a uniform style.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention arehereinafter described in the following detailed description of exemplaryembodiments to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawingfigures, wherein like reference numerals are used to identify the sameor similar parts or steps in the similar views, and:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary representation of the components of the ContentManagement Application of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of the workflow process of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary representation of the dataflow of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram depicting the Administrative Userembodiment of the Content Management Utility of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary block diagram depicting the Non-AdministrativeUser/Workflow embodiment of the Content Management Utility of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary workflow diagram for Content ManagementApplication Administrative users;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary workflow diagram for Content ManagementApplication Non-Administrative users; and

FIGS. 8 a-8 c are examples of screen layout templates for use inenforcing standard page layouts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The present invention may be described herein in terms of functionalblock components and various processing steps. It should be appreciatedthat such functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardwareand/or software components configured to perform the specifiedfunctions. For example, the software elements of the present inventionmay be implemented with any programming or scripting language such as C,C++, Java, PERL, or the like, with the various algorithms beingimplemented with any combination of data structures, objects, processes,routines or other programming elements. For purposes of simplicity andonly by way of example and not by way of limitation, the exemplaryembodiments are described as using eXtensible Markup Language (XML).Further, it should be noted that the present invention may employ anynumber of conventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, dataprocessing, network control, and the like. Still further, the inventioncould be used to detect or prevent security issues with a client-sidescripting language, such as JavaScript, VBScript or the like. For abasic introduction of cryptography, please review a text written byBruce Schneider which is entitled “Applied Cryptography: Protocols,Algorithms, And Source Code In C,” published by John Wiley & Sons(second edition, 1996), which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The computing units may be connected with each other via a datacommunication network. The network may be a public network and assumedto be insecure and open to eavesdroppers. In the illustratedimplementation, the network may be embodied as the internet. In thiscontext, the computers may or may not be connected to the internet atall times. For instance, the customer computer may employ a modem tooccasionally connect to the Internet, whereas the bank computing centermight maintain a permanent connection to the internet. Specificinformation related to the protocols, standards, and applicationsoftware utilized in connection with the Internet may not be discussedherein. For further information regarding such details, see, forexample, DILIP NAIK, INTERNET STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2COMPLETE, various authors, (Sybex 1999); DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY,MASTERING HTML 4.0 (1997). LOSHIN, TCP/IP CLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997). Allof these texts are hereby incorporated by reference.

A variety of conventional communications media and protocols may be usedfor data links. Such as, for example, a connection to an InternetService Provider (ISP) over the local loop as is typically used inconnection with standard modem communication, cable modem, Dishnetworks, ISDN, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or various wirelesscommunication methods. Merchant system might also reside within a localarea network (LAN) which interfaces to network via a leased line (T1,D3, etc.). Such communication methods are well known in the art, and arecovered in a variety of standard texts. See, e.g., GILBERT HELD,UNDERSTANDING DATA COMMUNICATIONS (1996), hereby incorporated byreference.

The databases disclosed herein may be any type of database, such asrelational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like. Commondatabase products that may be used to implement database 103 include DB2by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), any of the database products available fromOracle Corporation (Redwood Shores, Calif.), Microsoft Access byMicrosoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.), or any other database product.Database may be organized in any suitable manner, including as datatables or lookup tables. Association of certain data may be accomplishedthrough any data association technique known and practiced in the art.For example, the association may be accomplished either manually orautomatically. Automatic association techniques may include, forexample, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, and/orthe like. The association step may be accomplished by a database mergefunction, for example, using a “key field” in each of the manufacturerand retailer data tables. A “key field” partitions the databaseaccording to the high-level class of objects defined by the key field.For example, a certain class may be designated as a key field in boththe first data table and the second data table, and the two data tablesmay then be merged on the basis of the class data in the key field. Inthis embodiment, the data corresponding to the key field in each of themerged data tables is preferably the same. However, data tables havingsimilar, though not identical, data in the key fields may also be mergedby using AGREP, for example.

It should be appreciated that the particular implementations shown anddescribed herein are illustrative of the invention and its best mode andare not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the present inventionin any way. Indeed, for the sake of brevity, conventional datanetworking, application development and other functional aspects of thesystems (and components of the individual operating components of thesystems) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, theconnecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein areintended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physicalcouplings between the various elements. It should be noted that manyalternative or additional functional relationships or physicalconnections may be present in a practical electronic transaction system.

It will be appreciated, that many applications of the present inventioncould be formulated. One skilled in the art will appreciate that thenetwork may include any system for exchanging data or transactingbusiness, such as the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, WAN, LAN,satellite communications, and/or the like. The users may interact withthe system via any input device such as a keyboard, mouse, kiosk,personal digital assistant, handheld computer (e.g., Palm Pilot®),cellular phone and/or the like. Similarly, the invention could be usedin conjunction with any type of personal computer, network computer,workstation, minicomputer, mainframe, or the like running any operatingsystem such as any version of Windows, Windows NT, Windows2000, Windows98, Windows 95, MacOS, OS/2, BeOS, Linux, UNIX, or the like. Moreover,although the invention is frequently described herein as beingimplemented with TCP/IP communications protocols, it will be readilyunderstood that the invention could also be implemented using IPX,Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI or any number of existing or futureprotocols. Moreover, the system contemplates the use, sale ordistribution of any goods, services or information over any networkhaving similar functionality described herein. One skilled in the artwill also appreciate that, for security reasons, any databases, systems,or components of the present invention may consist of any combination ofdatabases or components at a single location or at multiple locations,wherein each database or system includes any of various suitablesecurity features, such as firewalls, access codes, encryption,de-encryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

To simplify the description of the exemplary embodiment, the inventionis described as pertaining to an internet and intranet system. Referringnow to FIG. 1, an exemplary representation of the content managementapplication system 100 for use in an active environment is shown. In anexemplary embodiment, the content management application is directed toa system for permitting a company to implement changes to an internetwebsite by defining and enforcing a common style of page layout producedon an intranet server. The system suitably facilitates access to variousapplication users 102, including an author 104, an editor 105, legalreviewer 106, the business owner 107, utility administrator 406 and/orthe site administrator 108. It is to be understood that reference to theauthor 104, editor 105, legal reviewer 106, business owner 107, and siteadministrator 108/utility administrator 406 may be to an entity, group,or team as well as to an individual, hardware, or software, as thesetitles are related to the function performed, rather than to anindividual entity.

Each user may interact with the Information Processing Center (IPC) 101through a connection with an Intranet web server 110 which maintains thepage layout for the internet web page on internet web server 130. Inorder to restrict unauthorized access to components within the IPC 101,connections may pass through a firewall 132. Intranet web server 110communicates through a firewall 114 into a data base server 120. Database server 120 additionally suitably communicates with a managementapplication server 122 and an internet web server 130. Siteadministrator 108 also communicates through firewalls 112, 114 to themanagement application server 122 which permits the site administratorto signal the data base server 120, controlling release of an updatedcontent web page to the internet web server 130. Web users 150 using astandard desktop browser can log onto the internet 140 and, afterpassing through a firewall 132, enter the secure internet web server toreceive the current version of the updated web page.

Referring also to FIG. 2, the figure shows an exemplary flow diagram 200of the workflow process of the content management application associatedwith the application users 102 of FIG. 1. Once a project is initiated bythe site administrator to create a new page or to change existing pagecontent to be presented on a web page, an author is assigned to createor modify the content in step 204 and forwards the updated content to aneditor for review and editing. The author may be tasked to create newcontent pertaining only to a portion of a new or an existing page ratherthan authoring an entire page. In step 205, the editor reviews thecontent and may either reject or approve the content in step 212 therebyreturning it to the author for review and/or modification if rejected,or if accepted, sending it to the legal reviewer 106 for review in step206. In step 212, the legal reviewer may reject or approve the pagecontent received from the editor. If the page content is rejected, thelegal reviewer may return it to either the author or the editor as shownin step 218. If returned to the author, the author reviews therejection, modifies the content and again sends it to the editor,starting the process over. If sent to the editor, the editor reviews thecontent with regard to the comments provided by the legal reviewer andmay address the legal reviewer's concerns or send the page back to theauthor for review and revision, again restarting the workflow process.If the legal reviewer approves the content, the page content is thensent to the business owner to review the contents at step 207. As withthe legal reviewer, in step 216, the business owner may reject thecontent and return it to either the author or the editor for furtherprocessing as shown in step 218. If, however, the business ownerapproves the content, it is sent to the site administrator in step 208for publication of the content to the web in step 230 as above describedfor FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown at 300 an exemplaryrepresentation of the flow diagram of FIG. 2. The creation process inthe content management application 301 is, in one embodiment, initiatedby an author 304 creating a page which starts the workflow 310 as abovedescribed in FIG. 2. While various scripting languages may be used increating content and/or a page, by way of example only and not by way oflimitation, the content/page is written in eXtensible Markup Language(XML) and stored in a data base 320. Once the workflow process iscompleted and the site administrator 308 has authorization, the updatedpage with the new content is launched, 312. Upon the siteadministrator's 308 launching, 312, the updated page content at 301 isstored as an XML file in a data base 320. At this point, an external webuser 350 may request the updated page wherein the page is retrieved fromthe data base in XML format, processed through a Content DeliveryApplication (CDA) translation 324 into, for example, an HTML format anddelivered as an HTML page to the user 350.

When launched, in one embodiment, the updated page content may containan auto-expiration provision. This provision is utilized for contentthat has a limited time period during which the content is valid. At theend of the selected time period, the content is automatically removedfrom the page. Further, the present invention contains a provision formanually removing page content at any time. However, once page contenthas been removed, predetermined information relating to the deletedmaterial is retained and stored. Thus, the retained content may berecalled and reproduced to provide information relating to the contentas well as providing audit information relating to the member of theworkflow process originally launching the removed page content.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown an exemplary embodiment of thecontent management application of the present invention at 400 directedto administrative user workflow. In this embodiment, the contentmanagement application is under the control of a utility administrator406. Utility administrator 406 sets up a new account using an internetbrowser application to connect to the production environment. Theutility administrator 406 creates workflow groups that will use thesystem. Users are then added to the groups and the groups are associatedwith the project.

As a security precaution, the administrator may verbally communicate theuser ID and password to each new user. in an exemplary embodiment, thenew user is previously designated as either a content author 402 or acontent approver 404, which would include editor 105, legal 106,business owner, or local site administrator 108. Content authors canthen create and edit content items and content approvers have theauthority to approve production content as ready to be launched to thewebsite. In this embodiment, no user of the content managementapplication can be associated with more than one entity in the sameworkflow. That is, the author cannot become an approver of his own workproduct. Once the new page content has been approved, it is presented tothe utility administrator 406 for distribution. Utility administrator406 approves the content as a final step in the workflow and releases itto intranet web server 410, which then distributes the upgraded web pageto the application server 422 and the data base server 420 forpresentation to the internet website of the company.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an alternate exemplary embodiment of thecontent management application is shown at 500. This embodiment isdirected to the non-administrative user workflow group under control ofthe local site administrator 502. Once the site administrator 502initiates a project and verbally communicates the user ID and passwordto each new user designated in the workflow, designated content authors504 can log directly onto a production server 508 and create and edititems using content entry templates accessed via a web browser.Additionally, designated content approvers 506, such as have beenpreviously described, may log directly onto the production server 508 inthe intranet and preview content items using a web browser. Contentapprovers can then mark items as approved or rejected as previouslydiscussed in FIG. 2, using the intranet based application. When the newcontent has been approved by all or a predetermined number or list ofconcerned users in the workflow, the utility administrator 514 will thenlaunch the content. Content is launched by the production server 508 tothe worldwide web 510 on the Internet. At this point, users 512 a, 512b, and 512 c may access the newly added content pages.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the content management application flow for useby the site wide administrative user disclosed in FIG. 4 is shown at600. The site wide administrative user 602 can setup workflow users 604by creating, modifying or listing them. Next, the administrative user602 may identify groups, creating and modifying workflow groups toinclude the members of the workflow users. The site wide administrativeuser 602 may also set out projects 608 for the group 606 to address. Ascertain members of the group 606 may have access only to certainportions of a project 608, the site wide administrative user assignsprivileges 610 to the users 604 of a group 606. Further, the site wideadministrative user can create or delete tags 612 identified with theproject, view the URL 614 where the modified content will reside,request help 616 or log out from the system 618.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an exemplary content management application fornon-administrative users is shown at 700. In this embodiment, the user702 can be the author, editor, legal, business owner, or siteadministrator. The site administrator defines a work space on theproduction server to accommodate the changes and modifications to a newcontent page. The site administrator also sets tasks 706 such that whenhe selects roles and projects under work space 704, he can then assignthe tasks to various entities or groups. As unassigned tasks aredisclosed, they may be added to the tasks listed for edit, approval,reassignment, or rejection. An author then defines the content 708 ofthe page, starting the workflow process through the review by theeditor, legal, and the business owner. Again, once the content isapproved throughout the workflow, it is sent to the site administratorfor launching to the production server for introduction to the worldwideweb on the internet. A user may also view the URL 710 where the modifiedcontent will reside, request help 712 or log out from the system 714.

Referring now to FIG. 8 a-8 c, various exemplary templates are depictedat 800 for use in standardizing the content pages which will be createdor modified by the workflow process for introduction to the intranet. Anumber of standard page types have been developed for use with theContent Management Application in order to present a common page styleand layout. Page types are general descriptions of the type ofinformation that appears on the page. As a result, templates can be setup in a simple table structure that define the overall structure of thepage. The table structure divides the page into areas, each of which isassigned a specific function, such as global navigation, localnavigation, content, etc. Thus, by creating templates for use across thecompany, consistency across the company web site can be ensured.Exemplary embodiments of such templates are depicted in FIGS. 8 a-8 c.

Referring particularly to FIG. 8 a, there is shown an exemplary template802 having a global navigation segment 804, a content area 806, and acopyright area 808. Copyright area 808 may include an automatic counteror automatic date stamp for correctly indicating the appropriate date ofdistribution next to the copyright symbol ©2000 along with theappropriate creator of the copyright. This template is used primarilyfor site wide utility pages which are accessible from the tool bar, suchas search or Company information. It is also used for any content whichfalls outside of the hierarchical navigation of a segment, which will behereinafter described. This template is generally used for searching asite, the site directory, customer service, information about thecompany, and as an exception, partner-hosted content.

Referring now to FIG. 8 b, there is shown an exemplary segment contenttemplate 810 again having a global navigation segment 804′, a contentarea 806 and a copyright area 808. In addition, a let hand navigationbar 812 has been added. This navigation bar 812 provides access tovarious segments located in the content area 806. This template could beused for demonstrations, demonstration introductions,acquisition/registration, interactive and non-interactive content on afourth level or lower within the web page only site.

Referring now to FIG. 8 c, there is depicted an exemplary segmentcontent template 810 with a cross-sell column 822. As before, thesegment content template with cross-sell column 820 includes a globalnavigation segment 804″, a content area 806″, a copyright area 808″ anda left hand navigation column 812″. The new cross-sell column 822 isused to present content, such as general information or productdescriptions, product/service pages, category introduction pages, outputpages and glossaries.

While only three types of templates have been described, it should beunderstood that other templates for other reasons and other uses can bedesigned and utilized for presentation of company content to theinternet website. As such, these templates are by way of example onlyand are not by way of limitation to the style and format of templatesused to present company information and content. Accordingly,corresponding structures, acts, and equivalents of all elements in theclaims below are intended to include any structural material or acts forperforming the functions in combination with other elements asspecifically claimed. The scope of the invention should be determined bythe allowed claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by theexamples given above.

We claim:
 1. A system, comprising: a processor; and a non-transitorymemory having instructions that, in response to execution by theprocessor, cause the system to perform operations comprising: savingremoved webpage content for audit, wherein the removed webpage contentincludes audit information associated with an application, and whereinthe removed webpage content was removed via the application.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise rejecting thewebpage content.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the operationsfurther comprise returning the rejected webpage content to theapplication for revision.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein theoperations further comprise revising the rejected webpage content toform revised webpage content.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein theoperations further comprise returning the revised webpage content to theapplication for review.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise allowing an administrator to at least one of identify,create, assign, and modify workflow groups.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise allowing an administrator togrant varying levels of access based on workflow groups.
 8. The systemof claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise updating the webpagecontent with at least one of a copyright, date stamp, and a copyrightcreator.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations furthercomprise monitoring the webpage content, wherein the webpage content isremoved following expiration of a pre-determined time period.
 10. Thesystem of claim 1, comprising wherein the operations further compriselaunching the webpage content by converting XML to HTML, wherein thewebpage content is XML.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise defining content modification privileges fora cell of the webpage content.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein theoperations further comprise allowing a reviewer to interface with theapplication.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations furthercomprise allowing the reviewer to reject the webpage content and returnthe rejected webpage content to the application for revision by at leastone of an author and the reviewer.
 14. The system of claim 12, whereinthe reviewer is at least one of an author, an artist, a designer, anadministrator, a manager, an employee, and a contractor.
 15. The systemof claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise allowing an authorto interface with the application to at least one of edit and providethe webpage content in the application.
 16. The system of claim 1,wherein the webpage content is provided in the application.
 17. Amethod, comprising: saving, by a computer-based system for auditingwebpage content, removed webpage content for audit, wherein the removedwebpage content includes audit information associated with anapplication, and wherein the removed webpage content was removed via theapplication.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising rejecting,by the computer-based system, the webpage content.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, further comprising returning, by the computer-based system,the rejected webpage content to the application for revision.
 20. Amethod, comprising: auditing, by a computer-based system for auditingwebpage content, removed webpage content, wherein the removed webpagecontent includes audit information associated with an application, andwherein the removed webpage content was removed via the application.